Reading forms. Prime Minister Schwesig now read to primary school children from a classic GDR picture book. There were also warning words on the nationwide reading day.
Schwerin/Leezen (dpa/mv) – On the nationwide reading day, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig read from her favorite children’s book “The coffee gets cold at the fire brigade” in the elementary school in Leezen near Schwerin. The picture book was published in 1969 and was very well known in the GDR. The book by Hannes Hüttner (text) and Gerhard Lahr (illustrations) is still available in stores today and can therefore be considered a classic.
Other members of the state government also read out on Friday, such as Justice Minister Jacqueline Bernhardt (left) in a school in Wöbbelin (Ludwigslust-Parchim district) or Interior Minister Christian level (SPD) in Greifswald. Minister of Education Simone Oldenburg (left) read about appointments on Friday in a daycare center in Proseken (Northwest Mecklenburg) from “Rabe Socke”, as a ministry spokeswoman said.
Schwesig appealed to parents and grandparents: “We should always take the time to read.” An exciting story that you can really immerse yourself in is wonderful. The reading day should make reading fun, especially the time together. Reading is also important in the development of children.
Education Minister Oldenburg also emphasized how important reading is for the development of children. “Whether at home, in daycare, at school or digitally – the main thing is to read,” she explained. The trained teacher published her contribution to the reading day on her Facebook page. “Children who are read to regularly are more likely to enjoy reading later and have a large vocabulary,” she said.
The IQB education trend – a regular Germany-wide test for fourth-graders in Germany – recently showed that they are increasingly having math and German problems and that their skills have fallen significantly in a ten-year comparison. About one in five people did not reach the minimum standards in reading, listening and mathematics.
Almost 750,000 people took part in the 19th nationwide reading day on Friday – as readers or listeners. The Reading Day is a joint initiative of the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”, the Reading Foundation in Mainz and the Deutsche Bahn Foundation.